Thoughts on locations

[dukebound85]

Does anyone have any advice/insight on the Niskayuna, Latham, Clifton Park area in NY?

Is it nice? expensive to live in? nice weather?

I am trying to compare it to colorado where I live as I have a job opportunity up in that area

 

[Macky-Mac]

you're where in Colorado? Ft Collins? Greeley?

The area in New York you're asking about is quite pretty but definitely has a different feel than where you live now. There are mountains to the north (Lake Placid ski area and others if you're a skier). In the warmer months, it's going to be greener with more trees (gorgeous in the Fall) and in the winter it'll be colder, grayer and there'll with more snow than you're used to. I grew up in suburban Denver and went to college in upstate NY. The first thing that struck me when I got off the plane was the humidity followed by how green everything was in early september as compared to the high plains around Denver.

schenectady-albany-troy(the general area you're asking about) is an older settled area and despite Albany being NY's capital, the area has a small city atmosphere. Some people think it's kinda quiet and dull compared to other cities in NY. When I lived in upstate NY (a while ago now!) it wasn't an expensive place to live.

I had a motorcycle in those days and absolutely loved riding in the hills after work in the summer.

 

[OutThere]

I go to Union College in Schenectady, literally a stone's throw from Niskayuna. Niskayuna is a generally rather nice kind of suburban area...it's home to a lot of engineers and scientists who work at the GE R&D headquarters or the Knolls Atomic Power Lab, therefore the area is generally pretty nice. GE employed 45,000 people in Schenectady in 1945 and now employs 2,000, so the area has been suffering, but in the two years I've been at school it has definitely changed for the better. There is a good amount of development downtown, new higher-end restaurants and bars and so on. Parts of the area are still very run down and there are some particularly bad neighborhoods, but things are looking better. As far as I know life isn't particularly expensive in the area. Albany has some more life to it and it's not far away, either.

As for weather: Long, cold winters with a solid amount of snow. Fall starts early...it gets mighty cold at the end of October and doesn't seem to really snow until January. The snow stays on the ground until late March/early April and it slowly gets warmer until June, when it starts to actually feel like summer. Summer is hot and muggy, not dry like CO. If you're a skier, you're 1-3 hours from all of the best east coast skiing in Vermont, and directly connected to interstates that will get you to Boston and New York in 3 hours. Amtrak also stops in Schenectady and Albany. If you miss the mountains the Adirondack park is only a couple hours to the north.

 

[dukebound85]

I'm from Fort Collins

Are these towns more older in terms of population? One of the things I like about Fort Collins is how college centric it is.

This would be a pretty big step for me since it would be so far away from home if you know what I mean